Day #15: Savoring the moments

Today was my last full day in the Cape Town area.  I spent it trying to soak in everything around me! I walked for hours, wrote, read, reflected....It's been a perfect end to a pretty amazing trip.

I have so many thoughts and ideas rolling around - by the time I get home I will have had 20 days of travel filled with so many new experiences, questions answered, more questions raised, beautiful places, hard histories, inspiring triumphs!  In the coming days I'll try to put it all into a somewhat conclusive reflection on what I've learn and seen here, and how it will influence me personally and through my teaching in the time to come.  For now, though, I'm just savoring...

Tomorrow I'll fly from Cape Town to back to the city of gold, and ultimately on to Atlanta.  I plan to have a day there to explore America's civil rights movement, and begin connecting the histories and experiences I've had here with the world a bit closer to home.  Then, back to fabulous MN!  I hear it's swelteringly lovely this time of year!!! :)

Though the sun is setting on this part of this amazing experience, my learning is ongoing.  I look forward to sharing my reflections and ongoing insights in the days to come!

~emily~

Day #14: Teacher Talk

I've had the chance over the last couple of days to engage in conversation with two incredible educators here in South Africa.  Last night we shared dinner with Wayne, the president of a local college, and today I got to meet Marion, a former teacher who now works in evaluation programs here in South Africa.  I again learned and so much from sharing in these conversations!  Here are some of the insights that I gained:

• South Africa has been through major curriculum revisions since its change in government in 1994.  As each of the different provinces and different racial groups (Black, Coloured, Indian, and White) merged their education departments, they also merged their curriculums.  It was important to unify the curriculum both to have a more universal system for education across the country, but also to provide equity for all students.  During the Apartheid years, the quality of education drastically declined as you worked your way down the race hierarchy - white - indian - coloured - black.  Black education was essentially an education for the working class, emphasizing the importance of not trying to "rise above one's station".)  Yet, as so many education systems do, SA has tried a variety of different curriculums (more than 5 in the last 20 years), with some having far greater success than others and many teachers frustrated with the frequent changes and overwhelming amount of content.  At this point, SA implements a very prescriptive, knowledge based curriculum.  South Africa struggles to answer the question of what it means to create equal opportunities for all students, and hold everyone to high standards.
• With all of the changes, students have not necessarily thrived.  South Africa is among the lowest performing countries on tests like TIMSS and PIRLS, and national math proficiency is only around 17%.   Though low performance tends to go across the board, there are still breakdowns by class and race.  Furthermore, despite legal opportunity for any child to attend any school, cost often creates two parallel education systems where the higher quality education is still predominantly, though not exclusively, white.
• Issues shared by Marion and Wayne facing South African education today include poor teacher training, varying degrees of early childhood education (some children, specifically from the townships, arrive at school having never held a book or a pen), and the high cost of education.  Good quality education is still not accessible to everyone.  Even for those who attend school, many drop out along the way, and of those who graduate from high school, only 50% can expect to find jobs.  Another issue is a strong teachers union that can sometimes hinder educational progress.  Marion shared some examples - officials are not allowed to observe in classrooms, there has been strong resistance to performance pay, and teachers fought having to demonstrate their qualifications by taking the exact same tests that their students take.
• As far as tertiary education goes, black students are still underrepresented in Universities.  Although admission policies exist to help disadvantaged students get into college, there are significant barriers that keep many black children from attending university.  (In a country where over 80% of the population is black, less than 20% of university students are black).  Once kids get into college, their success varies.  Wayne shared that a study done in South Africa tried to consider what factors - class, race, parent education level, etc. - had the greatest predictors of college success.  The findings?  The students were proportionally more successful based on the number of books that were in their home.
•   Interestingly, the University of Cape Town has recently amended their admission policies in this respect.  Although they are receiving some criticism for this change, they are sticking to their decision.  Where previously student admission "points" were given based on a strictly  racial quota, now there are different qualifiers for what it means to be "disadvantaged."  Some of these qualities include income level, parent education level, and race.  Marion described this as a way to equalize the complexities that contribute to what it means to need a little extra leg up.
• Through all that SA has been through, many people are very comfortable talking about race- in and out of the classroom.  Marion shared stories of having to be careful when she travels to other countries, reminding herself that not everyone around the world is so open to race conversations.  Wayne shared that in the years he has been in SA since Apartheid, he has seen widespread conversations, even joking, about race.  Marion acknowledged that "the minute you avoid taking about race, you deny the society that we live in."  Marion encouraged like the US to validate each student's language and culture, recognize the culture of power that exists, and create an openness to discussing race issues both in and outside of schools.

While these conversations have certainly not given me any answers to the questions I've set out to explore here in South Africa, they have given me many insights into the world of education here.  I wonder if the reconciliation taking place in many aspects of society here in SA has not found its way into the schools yet.  It's very interesting to have learned so much about the backdrop of society here, and then focus into the schools and educators who train the future leaders of South Africa.  I think that the issues that face SA, much like those facing the US, are deeply layered and complex.  Yet, I think there are lessons to be learned from each other, and I think that starting these conversations creates opportunity for digging into those lessons.

~emily~

Day #13: Robben Island

Today I took the sobering trip to Robben Island and the maximum security prison where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were kept.  Ferries launch every couple of hours throughout the day, and visitors are taken over the bay to the island, then given a bus tour of parts of the island, and a walking tour of the prison by an ex political prisoner.  It was a fascinating day!

Our trip across Table Bay was rocky, and I don't even think it was a rough day.  The boat pitched and rolled, people all around us got sick, and I found myself thinking what it would have felt like to make that trip as a prisoner - not sure when or if I would ever set foot on the mainland again.  Table Mountain stands over you throughout the journey - those on the island would describe it as a symbol of hope as they looked across the bay.  After about 45 minutes, we arrived.

During the bus tour we learned that Robben Island had been used as a place of isolation for lepers, orphans, the blind, and other societal outcasts of the time even before it became home to the prisons.  It was later used during World War II, and most famously became the home of Nelson Mandela during the majority of his 27 years of imprisonment.  The island is actually quite large, though we only saw a small portion of it.  We saw the homes and schools of the wardens and their families who lived on the island, the different prisons, a church, and the infamous lime quarries.  Our guide told us that the new South African constitution was born out of the lime quarries, through the conversations of those imprisoned there.  A large pile of stones sits at the entrance to the quarry where, at a reunion of the political prisoners, Nelson Mandela took a stone from the quarry and set it down - saying it served as a monument to the triumph of the human spirit.  The others there also did the same - and the pile of stones stands today to testify to that incredible resiliency.

When we arrived at the maximum security prison, we were shown the place by a kind faced man named Ntando Mbatha, who also served a prison sentence at Robben Island for his activism during the apartheid years.  He showed us the office where prisoners lost their identity and were reduced to a number - Mandela's was 466-64, (called four-triple six-four) meaning he was the 466th political prisoner to arrive during the year 1964.

We saw the censorship office where both incoming and outgoing letters were literally censored with scissors for anything that might be seen as political.  Sometimes prisoners or family members received letters with only the salutation and the signature remaining.  Mr. Mbatha showed us the library and told of the motto "each one teach one" - whereby prisoners committed themselves to educating one another and sharing in dialogue and discussion to keep the movement going even from behind bars.  We saw the prison yard, where sentries were armed with guns and the order "shoot and shoot to kill" and two layers of incredibly tall fences had snarling dogs in between to keep the prisoners away.  Even if a prisoner managed to get through that, only the ocean lay in front of them.  No one ever escaped...

We learned that political prisoners had no chance for parole - their sentence required them to serve their entire term in prison.  While Robben Island was only home to black and coloured male prisoners, many other activists were sentenced and imprisoned through other parts of the country, and many others died in the struggle and never even made it to their trial or to jail.  The prisoners on Robben Island faced torture, isolation, poor health, and extremely uncomfortable living conditions.  They lost not only their freedom, but also their dignity.  What Mr. Mbata shared reminded me of a quote from a book I've been reading on this trip.  "Without dignity, identity is erased.  In its absence, men are defined not by themselves, but by their captors and the circumstances in which they are forced to live...Dignity is as essential to human life as water, food, and oxygen.  The stubborn retention of it, even in the face of extreme physical hardship, can hold a man's soul in his body long past the point at which the body should have surrendered it.  The loss of it can carry a man off as surely as thirst, hunger, exposure, and asphyxiation, and with greater cruelty." ~Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand.  Amazingly, the men of Robben Island were able to maintain their dignity not only to survive, but to thrive for themselves and create an incredible new country.

As we neared the end of the tour, we saw the courtyard of Block B where a famous propaganda picture was taken (above), and where Mandela tended a garden in which he buried a copy of "Long Walk to Freedom."  It was found by guards and Mandela was punished, but fortunately it was the second copy Mandela had written.  The first copy had already made it out.  We ended our tour at the cell where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years before being moved to other locations until he was finally released in 1994.



While it is sobering to see a place where so much hope could have been lost, and so much bitterness fostered, Robben Island is instead an incredible monument to forgiveness and reconciliation.  Mr. Mbatha shared that despite the suffering the prisoners endured, they never talked of their suffering and they bear no hatred.  instead, they worked to move forward in a spirit of peace.  Robben Island now stands as a reminder of what was, and an urgent monument to what should never happen again.

We headed out on our return trip to the V&A Waterfront, our minds full of all we had seen.  While sitting and staring at the bay in front of us, we were surprised to see seals swimming along side the boat.  Then, there was a puff of air out of the water, and we realized that we were traveling beside 5 whales!!!  It was incredible to watch their backs and their tales glide through the water - a further symbol of beauty even in the midst of the pain that has been experienced here.

Tonight we'll be sharing dinner with the president of a local college in Cape Town, and I'm really looking forward to getting to chat education with him and his family.  I'm so thankful for the depth and fullness of this experience as I come towards the end of my time here!

~emily~

Day #12: From Constitutions to Conversations

Today I'm feeling a little bit of information overload, but it's been another great day of learning here in Cape Town!  So much rolling around in my head tonight, but I'll try to connect it all into something to share!

After breakfast, we headed on a train and up the coast to Cape Town's city center.  We found our way to South Africa's parliament building (after multiple tries and being sent to multiple different doors), where we joined 5 others on a tour.  2 of the others on the tour were South African, two were visiting from the U.K., and one was an American Peace Corps Volunteer in Lesotho!  So fun to compare stories from our service!

The tour was led by a South African law student and was very interesting and informative.  In many ways, I can see the influences of British systems on both SA's and the US's current governement.  Like the US, SA has a bicameral parliament system, as well as three branches of governement.  The two branches of SA's legislative branch are the National House of Provinces and the National Assembly.  Where the legislative branch once had supreme authority, the new Republic of South Africa has given its new constitution supreme authority.

The National House of Provinces is made up of 10 delegates from each of the 9 provinces, and delegates vote in a block for the wishes of their province.  The National Assembly is made up of representatives from the parties that make up the multiparty government, with seats given proportionally by the vote.  (In the last election, the current party in power, the ANC, got 62% of the seats.)  Representatives from different parties sit across from eachother, with the Speaker at the front of the group.  In all houses the public is welcome to obtain a free ticket and observe the congress in action, and proceedings can take place in any of the country's 11 official languages.  Translators sit at the ready to keep the dialogue moving and record the proceedings in all of the languages.

We also had the chance to sit in the old National Assembly building.  Because it is no longer used for official parliament business, we were able to sit in the chairs on the floor.  For a brief period of SA's history, there was a tricameral legislature, made up of some of the different racial groups: Whites, Indians, and Coloureds.  Black South Africans were excluded all together.  It was in this building that one of those groups met.  Interestingly, this section of parliament was built as closely as possible to England's House of Commons.  (The Brits in the group said it looked just like it!)  It was in this room that the majority of Apartheid laws were passed, as well as the site of the only assassination of a prime minister.  One of the other visitors asked why they keep this building - a place where so many awful Apartheid laws were allowed to make South Africa into the place it had become.  (Remember, since at that time parliament had supreme authority, any law that followed proper procedure could be passed - no checks and balances...)  Our tour guide had a great answer.  He said that you can't just wipe out history.  It's important to remember what happened here, to be sure that it never happens again.  So, the house still stands as a reminder for what SA once was, and what it should never be again.

In 1994, everything changed for SA. The New Democratic Republic of South Africa was born.  The new constitution became supreme, the law changed - adopting traits from Dutch, British, American, Indigenous, and International law.  All of the old pictures were taken down, and African tapestries were hung on the wall instead.  The official symbolic tools, the gold mace and the black rod, were redesigned to reflect the new SA and everyone's part in it.  It became a democracy built on the principles of forgiveness and reconciliation.

So - a very interesting look at the governemental side of things here in South Africa.

From there, we caught a train and headed just out of the city to visit with a college professor named Peter, the head of the education department at the school.  Since the timing of my trip coincided poorly with the school term, it wasn't possible for me to visit any.  But, I've been able to see many from the outside, and talking with this knowledgeable professor of education was the next best thing!

This conversation brought yet another snapshot into the experience of another South African - this time with an added focus on the education side of things that I'm so interested in.  We talked for hours, but I'll try to share objectively on some of my biggest insights:

• Peter attended a segregated school, growing up in the Western Cape.  He described that the white school was on one side of a valley, the black/coloured school was on the other, and "never the two shall meet."  He finished his schooling in 1983.
• In the segregated schools, the quality of education in the white schools was far superior to the education received in black or coloured schools.
• Peter referenced the uprisings in Soweto, 1976 as a pivotal point in education in SA.  At the time, he as teaching in a segregated school.  For him, this was the beginning of many changes to come.
• In 1992, schools became open to all races.  Peter described this as intentional desegregation.  When pushed further, he said this usually meant that black or coloured students would "cross the road" and join the white schools.  It rarely went the other way around.  Additionally, it was often only the upper class black or coloured students who would be able to afford the fees needed to actually switch schools.  (Even government/public schools in South Africa require uniforms and text books to be purchased and school fees to be paid)  Peter also shared the pattern than often followed "desegregation": the students of color would come to the school, and it would be multiracial only briefly, until the white families left the school, and moved on to a more white school.  In this way, many of the schools that used to be "white" have few white students left in them.  What was supposed to bring everyone together, just shifted everyone one school "up the ladder"
• This observation was also shared by the teacher I talked with during my visit to the Slave Lodge musuem
• In 1994, with the new government, everything changed.  Education policy was "passed around like a football," and the curriculum underwent major revision.  Whereas formally, each province would set their own curriculum (differening not only by province but also by race group), now there was a push for a more universal curriculum shared by the entire country - the same for all children regardless of race.  Peter feels that this has generally lowered the quality of education across the countries (the score required to graduate on the national exam is only 30%), and now many private schools are being created to teach a "more rigorous" (and expensive) curriculum.  So, a divide still exists...As in America, wealth gives access to resources - plain and simple.
• The post apartheid years also brought about painful changes for Peter.  As schools were combined, losing their unique identities but becoming more open to all, staffing ratios intended to diversify the teachign staff left Peter (a white male) without a job.  He dealt with unemployment three different times during that period, finding it nearly impossible to find or keep a job based on his race.  He speaks without biterness about this, but acknowledges the difficulty it brought to him and his family.
• Peter shared that today, there is a direct line between wealth (which, in SA, also breaks down along racial lines) and success in school.  The more expensive the school, the better resources, the better perform the students.  While good education is now legally open to all, the realities of what one can pay and how one gets admitted still excludes many people from an ability to access quality education.
• I also learned some disheartening statistics from Peter - of the 1 million South African children in the system each year, only half make it from kindergarten all the way through grade 12.  Of those, only 67% pass the graduation exam nation wide.  Although school is compulsory until age 15, millions of kids leave school long before that.
• Peter has a lot of hope for the younger generations, known here as "born-frees" because they have not lived under the Apartheid system.  He feels that they are the most open when it comes to race issues, and it will be them who will bring even more change to SA.
• When I asked Peter to speak from his experience in SA and share advice for America's educational system, he emphasized learning from the example set here.  He emphasized the importance of reaching out to families and teaching students the values of diversity at a young age.  He shared that when jobs must restructure, people must move on.  He said that everyone benefits personally from a more open society.

So - lots to think about and absorb.  I have lots of thoughts about what I learned and how I percieve the information I've gathered, but I'll just save those for another night.

We ended our evening at the home of a college acquaintance, who shared a great meal with us and yet another picture into another life lived here in South Africa.

Tomorrow we'll head to Robben Island, and later spend some time with the president of a local university.  I know I will continue to see new perspectives, have more stories shared, and absorb these experiences.  What a crazy great learning adventure!

~emily~

Day #10 - As South as I can go!

Today we had a little bit of down time, and took the chance to explore more of the beautiful Cape region!

After waking up to a beautiful view of the harbor, we ate breakfast and headed out to explore Boulders Bay and Cape Point.

Boulders Bay is home to a colony of 3,000 African penguins!  It's so fun!  After a near fatal incident with a rock hyrax (just kidding, they are just as nice as they look!) we headed down a boardwalk through the protected area where the penguins can breed.

I found myself peering into the bushy areas, trying to spot penguins.  I got excited at each one I saw - lots of young ones too - and thought that I'd done pretty well for myself at penguin spotting.  Little did I know, there was more to come!  Along the path, the boardwalk opens up to a beach where there are literally dozens and dozens of penguins lounging, sunbathing, waddling around, and jumping into the sea!  It was so fun to watch them!

Then we headed even further south, towards the most south western point of Africa - Cape of Good Hope.  The trip south is filled with spectacular views - there is beauty literally every direction you look!  After arriving at the national park there, we started with a walk up to a lighthouse.

Strangely enough, after its construction it was realized that the lighthouse was actually too high, and could never be used!  What a disappointment!  But - it's a fun walk with amazing views of the ocean in every direction.

Then we took the hour and a half hike to the Cape of Good Hope - the furthest southwest point in Africa.  On the way, we stopped at the breathtakingly beautiful Dias beach and even got to see some surfers out on the waves.

Then, up and down and up again until we reached the Cape of Good Hope.  There were lots of tour buses there (the hike was definitely the less popular option for reaching the Cape!) but we managed to sneak in a picture and enjoy the view a bit!

The Cape coastline in this region is home to surfers, shipwrecks, and even whales in the midst of their migration.  Although its popularly believed to be the spot where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet,this is actually a misperception (that spot is located at Cape Agulhas).  It is however a fabulous place to see - I'm so thankful that it became part of my experience of diving in to South Africa in the midst of this adventure!

After coming across a baboon roadblock, we snacked on a picnic lunch at Buffels Bay.  I think we were both a little petrified of the baboons coming to find us (there are signs everywhere extolling their dangerous nature!), so we ate fast and made a quick escape.  More hyraxes there too, but they are most cute than intimidating! :-)

Another truly incredible day - just immersing myself in the wonder and beauty of this amazing place!

Tonight we'll have an early night in preparation of hiking Table Mountain tomorrow.  I'm super excited to reach the top of this iconic Cape Town mountain!  Let's hope we make it! :-)

~emily~

Day #9: Moving on over!

In my attempt to visit a lot of areas of the Johannesburg and Cape Town region, today we traveled to our final home away from home for the trip - Kalk Bay.  From here, we'll venture into the experiences I have planned for the second week of the trip - hiking Table Mountain, visiting Robben Island, connections with 3 educators and one community activist, and touring parliament.

Kalk Bay is incredible - it's one of the quaint little communities nestled in the coves of the coastline of False Bay.  To get here, we took a breathtaking scenic drive through the vineyards, along the coast, and past the mountains.  This is an incredibly beautiful place!!!

One of my favorite roads we took to get here was the drive by Chapman's Peak.  The mountain overlooks Haut Bay, and we drove along it right as the sun was setting.  It was stunning!!!  (Lots of pictures to come!)  We also had the chance to stop at a local market where community members sold hand made crafts (if only my carryon was larger!)

Now we're settled into a lovely hotel overlooking the sea.  It's beautiful!  We'll fall asleep tonight to the sound of waves crashing on the bay!!!  The train station is literally just across the road, so it will be super easy to navigate our way around exploring over the next week.  The way my schedule and the schedule of those I'm meeting with has worked out, I've packed a few of the days super full with visits and experiences, so tomorrow we have a little down time.  I think we'll head south and visit Cape Point, one of the southernmost spots in Africa.  From what Ryan tells me, we might even get to visit a beach with penguins.  Can't pass up that opportunity!

Thanks for following along!  More updates soon!

~emily~

Days #7 - 8: Reflecting

Friday June 20 & Saturday June 21

I thought I'd open this blog with the view that has greeted me each morning that we've been in the Stellenbosch area.  It is incredible here - we're just a few kilometers out of Stellenbosch but a world away.  It is quiet, serene, peaceful, and beautiful.  I think some of the heaviness of the last week's learning has started to catch up to me a bit, and I feel like this change of location and a little bit of quiet time has been helpful just to reflect, write, and make connections with all that I've taken in since we've been here.

Although I had originally planned this portion of the trip to connect with contacts shared with me as I planned the grant, as so often happens in life and in travel, the universe had other plans for me!  Yet I was still able gain a lot of insight being here (when you keep your eyes open, you can learn everywhere and anywhere!), and also immerse myself in the beauty of another part of the Cape region.

One night this weekend, I was able to have the chance to share a long evening of conversation with a few South Africans living in the area where we were staying.  One, a man in his 60's named Ron, the other a female Masters student who is 28 - the same age as I am - named Sara.   Both of them are white South Africans.  Despite their different European  heritage, both identify strongly and singularly as South African.  As we shared conversation over wine and bread and the course of many hours one evening, I was given a really vivid picture of the South Africa of each of their experiences. I'll do my best to objectively share about what I heard in their stories...and maybe editorialize a little bit at the end! :-)

Ron grew up in South Africa, then traveled to Britain for school, and decided to stay there for a bit.  He eventually married a German woman, and moved to Germany to live with her and raise their children.  He came back to SA when his marriage ended, and he's been here ever since.  He works in the government doing scientific work.  He speaks with what sounds to us like a very British accent.

Sara grew up on a rural farm near Durban - no electricity, no running water.  One of her parents is German, and the other was born in SA to German parents.  Sara's first language was german, but now she speaks, english, german, and afrikaans.  She's a botany student who is starting her masters and planning to do fieldwork in Mongolia.  (Fieldwork actually won't be her first time in Mongolia...she recently competed in a 1,000 kilometer horse race there, tracing the path of Genghis Khan!)   Sara shared a lot with us about her perspectives on race and culture in South African society today, and Ron also added his perspectives every now and again.

Sara talked of growing up without a concept of race.  To her, she didn't notice differences between skin color.  It wasn't until boarding school, when some of the black girls in her dorm called her a racist, that she went home to ask her mom about what racism was.  Sara started her schooling just as apartheid was being dismantled.  When she came to the University of Stellenbosch (less than ten years ago), all instruction was still being delivered in Afrikaans (remember, that's the language of the education that the students in Soweto were protesting).  She feels that her school experience had no influence of apartheid, and she also feels that even though it's only been one generation since the apartheid regime was in power, a lot of good development has happened in SA.  She implied that maybe its time everyone "moves on" from what happened during the apartheid years - it's been over 20 years now...Sara shared that some of the wealthiest people in the country are now made up of the black Africans who only twenty years ago were deeply oppressed by apartheid.

Sara spoke with deep reverence for president Mandela - sharing that he united the entire country and did tremendous things for South Africa.  She said she thought Mandela's death was bringing everyone back to the realizations of all he did here, and the incredible man that he was.  She also shared that she feels that the leaders since Mandela have not been able to make nearly as much progress.

Sara's perspective is that the government has worked very hard to create opportunities for groups who had been oppressed, and that this has resulted in a lot more opportunities for people who once had no chance to thrive in the South Africa of apartheid.  She shared that some white South Africans are now finding it harder than ever to find a job, as everyone must check a box that correlates to their race, and preference is often given to black or coloured applicants. She was definitely frustrated with this perception, and Ron chimed in with his agreement.

I found their story to bring to mind conversations I've had and stories that have been shared in the US - a lack of identifying or "seeing" race or color (I believe this is an attribute of white privilege), frustration with what might be seen as affirmative action, even a bit of resentment for the shifting power structure in the country.  I just can't help hearing echoes of experiences and conversations I've had in America as I hear people here share their stories.  These were just two South Africans sharing their experiences, but there are so many connections to be made, and I can't stop myself from wondering how we all can have the courage to look back at issues of race in our countries and use them to move forward into a more reconciled future...

Maybe it's a good time to explain a little bit about race here in SA.  Here, most people (at least traditionally) identify their race as white, black, or coloured.  White South Africans may descend from Europeans - British or Dutch colonialists, European immigrants, etc.  Coloured South Africans tend to be lighter skinned and have mixed heritage or descend from slaves brought to the region.  Black South Africans tend to be those whose families are more native to the region.  In the midst of apartheid, a strong (and legalized) racial hierarchy existed in soceity, with white at the top, coloured in the middle (the lighter you were, the closer to the top were), and black at the bottom.  On their passbooks, people were identified solely by their looks - certain attributes (straight hair, light colored eyes, etc) helped one "pass" as white, where other attributes (curly hair, darker complexion, etc) could earn you the stamp of coloured or black.  Even within the same family, sometimes one child might be identified as a different race than their siblings or parents, purely because of their physical appearance.  Just another piece of evidence of the social construction of race, and the shocking power it has had.

Today, as was the case during the apartheid regime, whites are in the minority population speaking.  Both Sara and Ron thought the white population to be around 20%.  According to wikipedia (terrible source, I know!), it's even less:
The 2011 census figures for these groups were Black African at 79.2%, White at 8.9%, Coloured at 8.9%, Indian or Asian at 2.5%, and Other/Unspecified at 0.5%.^[15]:21 The first census in South Africa in 1911 showed that whites made up 22% of the population; it declined to 16% in 1980,^[16] and 8.9% in 2011
Here's a map (wikipedia again!), showing the different parts of the country and their racial makeup.  It's worth checking out if you're interested.

So...a little bit of background, and the beginning of some qualitative snapshots of race, education, and life in South Arica.  As I said, the weekend played out much differently than planned, but it was enlightening and interesting all the same!

~emily~

Day #6: Bo Kaap & the Slave Lodge

Hey everyone!

I've been off the grid and away from internet the last couple of days, so let me get caught up with posts and what I've been learning!

Day #6: Thursday, June 19

Yet another great, thought provoking day!

We started off with a final nice breakfast at the great boutique hotel where we have been staying the last couple of nights.  Everyone has been so friendly, we've met some nice fellow travelers, and it's been nice (though tiring as well) to be right in the heart of Cape Town.  Then, off to do some exploring in the Bo Kaap neighborhood.

Bo Kaap literally means "above the cape."  It was one area where former slaves (black Africans and colored people) were allowed to reside, as at that time the neighborhood on the side of Signal Hill was far out of the city of Cape Town, a whites-only area.  Because slaves were forbidden from wearing colored clothes, they chose to live vibrantly in their new, free lives - painting their homes the most beautiful vibrant colors.  Now, as Cape Town has grown, Bo Kaap is right in the heart of the city.  It is home to the Muslim community of Cape Town, and such a lovely place to walk around.  I don't think I've seen such brightly colored homes one right after another!  Of course I went crazy with my camera! :-)  We learned also that Bo Kaap is facing issues with gentrification.  What was once an area considered far from anywhere desirable to live, is now a beautiful and vibrant community right in the heart of Cape Town.  Some of the original residents fear being pushed out of their homes by others looking to get a spot in this picturesque community.  I do hope that this community won't lose its heritage and its originality, and that those who choose to call it home will always have the opportunity to!  (And...I'm reflecting on changes in my own neighborhood as I think about this.  So many connections between here and there!)

We spent the rest of the morning at the Slave Lodge museum - going back in time from Bo Kaap into the world of slavery in SA.  This museum is located in a building that was literally called The Slave Lodge - described as a "shameless fortress of human misery."  It's exactly what its name implies - a fortress of a building that where the slaves of the 17th and 18th centuries lived, worked, and died.  After slavery was banned in the British colonies, the Slave Lodge became home to government buildings, but it has now returned to an echo of its former space - using halls once filled with anguish and torture to teach about the past and advocate human rights.  Poignant...

The history of slavery in South Africa is very reminiscent of the slavery of American history.  The museum pointed out that slavery was present in many different cultures, in many different locations around the globe, from ancient times to present day.  What an awful stain on the history of humanity!  Slavery took root in Cape Town when the Dutch East India Company needed workers to tend the gardens, build, and repair ships at the "refreshment station" on the Cape.  Spice traders would stop at the Cape en route to their shipping destinations, and slaves were "needed" to build the infrastructure to make this happen.  Many of the slaves housed at the Slave Lodge worked in the Company Gardens - a large garden area where a stream was rerouted from Table Mountain and fruits and vegetables were grown (A portion of these gardens remains today - they are outside of the parliament building and absolutely gorgeous!)

The majority of the African slaves came from Mozambique and Madagascar, although there were also slaves from Asia and Indonesia, and eventually the local Khoikhoi were used as indentured servants.  Interestingly (and absolutely bizarre!), because the slaves were so diverse, it was impossible to tell walking down the street who was a slave, and who was not.  (If you can't tell that someone is different from yourself, how can you possibly feel it's acceptable to enslave them?!)  As a result, slaves were not allowed to wear shoes, colored clothing, and many wore wide straw hats as a symbol of their status.  Slaves outside the lodge were also required to carry pass books - an erie foreshadowing of what was to come...

As in American history, slaves in SA were treated horrendously.  Many, many died in the horrible conditions on the slave ships, and those who made it to the Cape lived an awful existence - working from sun up to sun down, losing their children or spouses to the slave trade, physical punishment and torture, rape, imprisonment...the list goes on...  One quote in the museum reflected on those involved in the slave trade.  "When they (the slave traders) embark on this unworthy trade, they must divest themselves of every human idea; their hearts must be steeled by insensibility and their crew must be equally callous to the finer feelings of humanity." ~Samuel Hudson, Cape Town resident.

One of my favorite little sections of the museum was a column filled with names of some of the slaves of the Slave Lodge (poor records make it impossible to know all of those who were enslaved there).  It had rings like trees, and really brought to mind the depth of injustice and the ripple effect it has on individuals, families, communities, and countries.  In the background was a portion of a poem commissioned for the musuem.  It really rang true to me, to why it's important to consider the history of injustice, and take the time to look back even as we so strongly desire to move forward:
In the light of memory and remembering
Through the streams of our senses
Reconnecting
Recollecting
We find our way home
~from Slave Dream by Malika Ndlovu

Another highlight was an artistic installation by Keith Dietrich called "Fragile Histories - Fugitive Lives."  It was a beautiful recollection of the humanity behind injustice - drawings of human hearts overlaid with names and criminal sentences of those enslaved.

Despite its atrocities, the history of slavery has contributed to the culture of South Africa.  South Africa refers to itself as a melting pot - a fascinating combination of African, Dutch, British, Indonesian, and Indian cultures.  The evidence of this convergence can be seen in the street names and architecture, heard in the language and music, and tasted in the food.  It's a really fascinating place!!!  As the Slave Lodge reminds visitors, "we are, because of them."  Ubuntu...

On a side note, we ran into a group of 8th grade students and their teachers at the museum.  We were able to chat with them a bit and learn about their school and education system.  They were from a Cape Town public school, made up of diverse students from the surrounding area (though very few white students were in the bunch.)  The teacher shared with us that their school became "multicultural" even before it was law.  Believe it or not, schools in SA were legally segregated until 1994.  This school chose to desegregate in 1990.  (It's harrowing to realize that I could, and probably would, have attended a segregated school for part of my life had I been born a South African!)  She also shared that as students can choose any school they wish to attend, there is a trend where everyone tries to go further and further "up the chain" to get to the best schools.  As a result, those who could moved away from their school and towards a school they thought was better.  Then, students at a school "below" this one, moved "up" and so on.  I am interested to learn more about this as I get into more education conversations next week...

The teachers were just over a week away from their 3 week holiday, and exhausted as teachers are everywhere when the end is in sight!  They also shared a lot about how hard they work - all the overtime that they put in without compensation and how much work they take home.  Sounds like an international truth of teaching - the dedication always outweighs the hours in the contract!  :-)  The students were in the midst of a unit on slavery and were eager to share their knowledge with us of the Underground Railroad and Harriet "Hubman," as one student proudly shouted out.  It was a fun surprise chance to chat and learn and share!

We decided to grab lunch on a patio at the V&A Waterfront again - it's so beautiful and fun to stroll and people watch there - reminds me a lot of Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco.  I was also able to connect and finalize plans with a few of the education contacts I will be seeing while I'm here - 3 visits confirmed with educators/those in the education world for next week!  I'm greatly looking forward to connecting the backdrop of what I'm learning with their qualitative perspectives on life and education in SA today!

It's amazing to think I left home just one week ago today!  I've been able to fit in a lot of learning, thinking, and adventuring in the last seven days.  The next couple of days we will explore Stellenbosch, a lovely area less than an hour outside of the city (though it feels like a different world altogether!), home to the seminary where Apartheid was advocated as a religious ideal, and also home to the heart of the Cape Town wine country.  Even in winter, it's an absolutely gorgeous area!  I'm looking forward to a few nights in a country cottage as a midway time to reflect on all that I've been able to see and learn this last week!  No internet there, so I'll post as I can.

Connect again soon!

~emily~

Day #5: District Six

Today we got a taste of what South African winter looks like - 50's and pouring all day long!  So, we took the chance to learn a little bit more about the inhumanity of Apartheid at the District Six Museum.

District six is one of the neighborhoods in the heart of Cape Town.  Although it is mostly just grass and open space today, it was once filled with working class people who lived as members of a vibrant, thriving community there.  However, District Six became one of 42 sites in the Cape Town area in which people of color and black Africans were forced to leave their homes and relocate to government housing outside of the city.  The residents of District Six were some of the 3.5 million people forced out of their homes during the Apartheid regime.  The District Six museum tells the story of this devastated community.

The first official forced removal in the Cape Town area happened in 1906.  Bubonic plague had traveled across the ocean through rats living in the hay brought to feed colonialist's horses.  But, when people started getting sick, it was the Black Africans who were blamed.  They were relocated away from the city, and all of their possessions were burned.

Just over four decades later, as the Apartheid government began its reign, legislation was passed in 1949 banning marriage between the different race groups.  The basic premise behind Apartheid legislation was that people of different races were too different to possibly live together.  Yet, people all over Cape Town were living in such a way that showed that this thinking simply wasn't true.  The government did not want communities made up of people of different races living together, and as a result, neighborhoods and communities were relocated and demolished between the 1960's and 1980's.

The story that the District Six museum tells is poignant - through pictures and mementos, one is drawn into the living, breathing, community of the place.  District Six was home to 60,000 people.  It was a world where people worked, played, had babies, danced, celebrated birthdays, got married, visited the barbershop, listened to jazz!  It was home - a home of friends, families, neighbors, workers, children...people.  The photos all around the museum speak to the lives that once played themselves out on the streets of District Six - the streets which now lie empty and lonely.

When the community members of District Six began hearing whispers and receiving notices that they were to leave, nobody could believe it - where would everyone go?  It seemed there was no way that the government could force so many people leave their homes.  Yet, that's exactly what happened.  People had to leave the houses in which they had raised their children, leave the neighbors they had come to share their lives with, leave their locations close to work and schools - the loss was total.  As homes were packed up, bulldozers followed.  By the 1980's the destruction was complete.

Some effort has been made for reconciliation around District Six.  The museum is an important landmark that has collected its stories (some ex-residents have even published books or films of their stories), and has held events to try to help people heal.  Yet, there is clearly still much pain in the memories of this community.  

As I walked through the museum, I was reminded of the Rondo neighborhood of Saint Paul.  Although the circumstances differ, I believe that there are commonalities in the injustices of these experiences.  During the 1960's, Interstate 94 was constructed in Saint Paul, right through the heart of Rondo.  Rondo was also a tight knit, vibrant, thriving community - made up of primarily African Americans.  It was a middle class neighborhood that functioned independently of the white neighborhoods surrounding it.  Families that had been a part of the community for years and years, as well as those just arriving from the South - everyone had to go.  Community members who refused to sell their homes were forcibly removed, and compensated at a fraction of what their homes were worth.  Construction ripped its way right through the Rondo community - and sent its community members into the segregated housing market and away from their families, friends, neighbors, and community.  Some interesting (and heartbreaking) parallels... 

After checking out the museum, we strolled into the Grand Parade to get a glimpse of a local market.  We stood in the square where 200,000 people gathered in February of 1990 to hear Nelson Mandela speak from the balcony of City Hall after being released from Robben Island.  

We also got caught in a crazy downpour which left us soaked and shivering!!!  But, nothing that a good cup of rooibos tea can't fix!

Another great day - lots to think about, lots to reflect on, lots to remember as consider how injustice can have longstanding impacts on communities.  It's heavy, but so significant.  As I have often heard spoken of here, if we don't understand our history, how can we move forward?  I continue to be incredibly thankful for the opportunity I have to understand South Africa's history and the ways it will help me move forward in my own work.

More to come!

~emily~

Day #4: Exploring Cape Town

What an awesome day we've had in this incredible city!!!  I think I may never leave...

Although we had originally planned to start on some of the city center museums today, with a 90% chance of rain tomorrow we rearranged our plans and enjoyed the sunshine today instead!  We spent the day seeing the cape peninsula area, as well as a little bit of the city along the way.

We started at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, an incredible landscape of rolling foothills and beautiful plants.  We walked for hours, taking in the landscape and the beauty surrounding us.

Table Mountain and its surrounding mountains stand above you as you travel around the cape and through the gardens - absolutely beautiful!  We learned in the gardens about the many indigenous as well as non-native plants that exist in the area. (Did you know that all geraniums originate from the area around Table Mountain?!)  The land on which Kirstenbosch sits (as well as the majority of the land around the area) was once owned by Cecil Rhodes, (yup, the guy who Rhodesia --> Zimbabwe was named after!)  a successful/ruthless entrepreneur who had grands plans of British colonization of the entire continent.  Incredibly wealthy, Rhodes left specific plans in his will for how his land and assets should be divided.  Luckily, these gardens were a part of his plan - and what a beautiful part they are!!!  We loved seeing the lush landscape of this beautiful region.

This region was originally inhabited by the Khoikhoi people.  Although they at first tolerated visitors to the cape, seeing it as a stopping point for trade routes, slowly their land began to be taken from them.  As they realized what was happening, the Khoikhoi first traded with the Dutch colonialists, and then tried negotiating with them.  This eventually broke down, and war ensued.  Although I have yet to learn a lot about this history, it seems like an unfortunately similar story to many places in the world where indigenous people were pushed out by colonialists.  Just like America, South Africa has not only the apartheid injustice in its history, but also this original forced removal of the country's first inhabitants.

On the way to the gardens, we drove by the hospital where the first heart transplant was performed (though passed on the opportunity to see the operating room and life size replicas of the surgeons and patients....) as well as the barren District Six - one of the only open field areas within the city center.  District Six was once a vibrant community, until Apartheid forced the relocation of 60,000 colored South Africans to areas outside the city.  Their homes were bulldozed behind them, and the emptiness that remains is another reminder of the injustice that lies in much of SA's recent history.  More on that tomorrow, when I visit the District Six museum! We also saw the Mount Nelson hotel, one of the most famous hotels in the region, hosting many internationally known guests throughout history.  Apparently one day someone reported a vagrant on the hotel lawn, who turned out to be John Lennon meditating in the grass!

From the gardens, we traveled on to check out a number of the views around the peninsula - the wine country of Constantia, Hout Bay, Sea Point, Three Anchor Bay, and Green Point.  We spent a bit of time strolling (maybe frolicking is a more apt description - I get veritably giddy by the sea!) on the Hout Bay beach, and enjoyed learning about the quirky community - they declared themselves a republic in the 1980's, complete with their own tourism passports!  Legend has it that someone was once able to travel the world on their Hout Bay passport, without any officials noticing!  We basked in the sun, enjoyed the waves, took in the scent of the sea, and enjoyed the spectacular views!  It was lovely - lovely - lovely!!!

We also passed by the township of Imizamo Yethu (meaning "our struggle.")  It's amazing that some of the wealthiest areas sit mere kilometers from some of the poorest.  South Africa is definitely a study in contrast - beauty and desolation, injustice and triumph, hardship and hope, wealth and disparity.

We learned about two Imizamo Yethu domestic workers who decided to take on a project they are calling "On Top of the Mountain."  These two women climbed Table Mountain, and then determined to summit the highest peak on each continent.  They have checked off Kilimanjaro, a peak in Argentina, and are planning for Everest.  If they succeed in their goal, they will be the first black women to summit the highest mountain in the world!  They have set out on this tremendous undertaking to show South African women the great things that are possible for them, even despite hardships!  Wow!!!

We ended our day at the V&A Waterfront - a lovely harbor area in the shadow of Table Mountain.

It's a beautiful area to stroll around, shop, eat, and enjoy the views.  We'll be back here a number of times during our visit, especially to take the ferry to the Robben Island prison/museum.  Tonight, we explored the canal (Oprah is rumored to have a penthouse apartment here!), walked along the boardwalk, wandered through the shops and markets, and ate at a great Portuguese restaurant right along the water.  It was lovely to reflect and take in the sights as the sun went down on the harbor.  (As it's winter here now, our patio dining was equipped with heaters and blankets!).  A delicious evening, in so many ways!

Tomorrow we'll don our rain jackets and explore more in the city center.  We have plans to see the Slave Lodge Museum, District Six Museum, St. George's cathedral, and a local market that's only a couple of days a week.  Can't wait to share about all I am learning and seeing!

~emily~

Day #3: Arriving in Cape Town

Hello from Cape Town!

After a rough night of sleep last night (I think that jet lag may have finally caught me!) we found our way back to the airport, onto our plane, and into Cape Town!

We decided to take a bus from the airport into town, and walked with our luggage (little PCV flashback there!) until we got to our hotel - a great spot right in the heart of the city.  After getting settled, we grabbed a bite to eat at a cute little Tapas restaurant, and then spent a little bit of time exploring the city.

My first impression of Cape Town: what a lovely, lovely place!!!  The architecture is beautiful, Table Mountain is gorgeous, there are so many interesting places we have strolled by...I can't wait to explore more!

But...for tonight...resting, planning, and getting back into a normal sleep schedule! :-)  I've got popcorn, rooibos tea, my already well worn Cape Town guide book, and there's a marching band playing American pop songs on the street below my window (so much for that sleep, eh?)!  I'm good to go for tonight!

More to come tomorrow!

~emily~

Day #2: Jozi & Soweto

Today we had the awesome experience of taking a hop on/hop off city bus tour through Johannesburg and the township of Soweto.  We learned so much about the history of both of these communities, and really enjoyed the opportunity to sit back, relax, and listen as we watched the city pass us by.

We started our tour back at the Apartheid Museum, where we caught the bus and headed into Jo'burg proper.  The first interesting thing I learned was that Johannesburg goes by many names - Jo'burg, Jozi, the City of Gold...Although it's official name is Johannesburg, historians aren't certain which Johanne the city was named after.  Jo'burg is located 1700 meters above sea level, and is a metropolis 4 times larger than London.  It contains between 2-12 million people, depending on which survey you reference and how wide they consider the range of the metropolis.  Jo'burg appeared to me to have a central down town region, with many sprawling areas beyond.  The central downtown area is crowded and urban, but the surrounding areas still have lots of open space and grasses all around.  The tour described Jo'burg as being an improbable place to live - so high above sea level and the only of the world's largest 50 cities to be built not near a water source.

As we learned previously, Jo'burg sprung up largely as the result of the discovery of gold in the 1886.  The landscape still bears the evidence of these beginnings.  The landscape surrounding Jo'burg is dotted with golden, sandy hills.  We came to learn that these are not actually natural hills, but the mounds of dirt which were dug up as mines were built.  You can also see the remains of different mining shafts peeking above the ground all around the city.

As we rode into the inner city of Jo'burg, I was struck by how similar it felt to parts of Kampala, Uganda.  Having lived in Uganda for 2 years and traveled through it's capital city many times, some of the sights of Jo'burg felt so familiar - little shops on the first floor of buildings, matatus (mini buses) criss crossing through different parts of the city, the contrast of urbanization and development...And many, many people!  The fact that we were touring on a Sunday meant that parts of the city were much quieter (in Uganda we always preferred to travel on Sundays for this very reason!)  Our bus tour described these parts of the city as having the "buzz of an African city" - this felt very familiar as we drove through.  The biggest difference from Kampala?  No boda boda motorcycles!!!  Joining us on the road were many taxi buses, and we also saw the large train station, which transports many urban commuters into the city each day.  During the Apartheid regime, the city was a whites only region, as were the city buses and trains that connected it.  As a result, taxis sprung up as the only way to transport blacks into the city for work.  They have remained a significant aspect of transportation within Jo'burg.

Additionally, we saw the buildings which issued the infamous passbooks to black and colored citizens during the Apartheid regime.  Those workers who came to the city were required to have passbooks (identification).  Police routinely checked for passbooks and heavily persecuted those who did not have them.  Not far from there, we passed the jails and the magistrate courts, home to many legal decisions and consequent jailings during the anti-apartheid movement.  Towering over all of these, is the imposing structure of what was once home to the Apartheid regime offices.  This building was built almost like a long wall - the tour described it as being a visible reminder of power to all those who saw it.  As I looked at it - all I could see was fear and insecurity - as if a building could create power that should never exist.  At the museum the previous day, one of the Apartheid leaders was quoted as describing the need to dominate 80% mentally, since the white population was only 20%.  This building was a testament to that attempted domination, yet only served to remind me of the fear of those who attempted to lead so corruptly during that period.

Also on our tour we passed "Wits," a large university of 29,000 students and notable alumni including 4 Nobel Prize winners and the first female math PhD in South Africa.  We also passed through Ghandi Square, where Ghandi one practiced law in Jo'burg.  Neither Ryan or I realized that Ghandi spent more than 20 years living and working here, and many of his experiences of discrimination shaped his ideas and the ideals he came to peaceably fight for.  We also saw the Carlton hotel, the tallest building in SA, and now home to the local tax collection agency.  "A visible reminder that you can't hide from the tax man," as our tour described it.

One of my biggest takeaways from the Jo'burg tour was the emphasis on contrasts.  The audio tour described Jo'burg as a place that testifies to the horrific and the triumphant, the incredible strife yet incredible opportunity also present there.  This came through so clearly - it's a city filed with hope, yet a city bearing so much pain as well.  The tour asked visitors to reflect on the question of how anyone could love a place where so many awful things had happened, and encouraged us to see that the people of Jo'burg are what make it beautiful.  Only through healing together can the ever-growing Jo'burg create a new history for itself.

Then...on to Soweto.  We had the opportunity to travel through Soweto with a local guide who shared a wealth of information on Soweto's history and current experience.  We also had the crazy coincidence of meeting a Ugandan couple, from the very same neighborhood we lived in during our homestay in Uganda!  A reminder of what a truly small world it is!

On our way towards Soweto, we had the chance to stop at the FNB soccer stadium, home to the 2010 FIFA World Cup!  It's a really interesting looking stadium, designed to have the look of an African calabash.  It was also the site of Nelson Mandela's memorial service this year.  It has a capacity of 90,000, one of the largest stadiums on the continent.  At Mandela's memorial, it was full to capacity and another 60,000 people overflowed outside.  I can't imagine being there at either of these momentous events!

Then...on to Soweto.  Soweto (short for Southwest Township) was a community designed to house the black Africans who worked in Johannesburg.  Historically, black workers were not allowed to live in Jo'burg.  So, the government created hostels to house those working in the mines.  Conditions there were awful - when the night shift workers went to work, the day shift would take their beds, and life there was very unsanitary and uncomfortable.  As the number of workers grew, so did Soweto.  Now, as you drive through the streets, you see stark contrasts between the different groups of people who live there.  On one side of the street, you see the upper class homes, contrasted sharply with the middle and lower class homes just across the street.  The lower class is primarily made up of the people who work in the city's recycling system.  They live in tiny homes of sheet metal walls with no electricity or running water.  In other parts of the community, middle class landowners rent space on their property for poorer households to construct a shack.  These illegal arrangements share toilets and electricity, and are an expensive alternative for those of the lower class.  Although the conditions in the lower class part of the township are very poor, they are reminiscent of sights in other developing countries I have visited and lived in.  The most striking difference between these familiar communities and Soweto is the simple fact that this community was created as the legally forced home of black africans, while white Afrikaaners lived in comfort and privilege mere kilometers away in Jo'burg.

 Soweto now is home to between 4 and 6 million people (more than in Jo'burg proper!), and includes people of upper, middle, and lower classes.  Although it was created to racially divide the people of the Jo'burg area, now all are welcome here, and 20% of its current population is now white.  Soweto includes everything you might expect to see in a town - churches, schools, petrol stations, and one of the largest hospitals on the continent (serving over 6,000 patients each day!).  It is still home to Winnie Mandela, and members of Desmond Tutus family.  It is also the only place in the world where two Nobel Prize winners have lived so close - The homes of Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela are literally just down the block from each other, and we had the neat opportunity to get to see both.

Soweto also became a hugely significant location during the struggle for freedom during the Apartheid regime.  It was in Soweto on June 16, 1976, that the young people started an uprising which had a monumental impact on the movement.  A group of students decided to protest because their instruction at school was in the language of Afrikaans, the language brought by the Dutch, and which they could not understand.  The gathering gained momentum, and soon 20,000 students and young people gathered to march to the Orlando soccer stadium.  They were soon stopped by police, and while waiting for other students to join them, a police warning shot set off a panic and the students began throwing rocks.  Police responded with gunfire, and before long over 140 students were dead.  We saw the bridge on which the first student victim was shot, and visited the Hector Peterson Memorial - a monument to these courageous students and named after the 6 year old child who became of one of the first young victims of the 1976 struggle.

After being at the Apartheid museum and seeing footage of the 1976 uprising and following political activism in Soweto, it was inspiring to travel on its streets and imagine the significant and troubling events that took place there years ago.

So - a very full, very educational, and very great day!  I felt privileged to have the opportunity to get a glimpse into the history and modern reality of Jo'burg and Soweto, and continue to feel awed at all of the pieces of the puzzle of South Africa's journey of human rights that I am getting to experience.

Until next time!

~emily~

Day #1 - Exploring Bryanston & the history of Apartheid

We started our first full day in South Africa with a lovely breakfast at our B&B - guava juice, cappuccino, fried eggs, grilled tomatoes, toast with Nutella, and passion fruit!  So many of the things we missed from our time living in Uganda!  We then got ourselves settled with reception (since it was too dark to do that last night!) and made some plans for our 48 hours in Jo'burg.

We started off our exploring at Bryanston Organic Market - a lovely outdoor market open 2 days a week.  It has everything from local African crafts to fresh organic fruits and veggies and fancy french pastries!  It was really wonderful to walk around and enjoy chatting with the vendors and perusing the different stalls.  We found ourselves the fixings for an awesome picnic lunch - fresh baked baguette   (supposedly the best in Jo'burg), blue cheese, hummus, and a belgian chocolate brownie for dessert!  It was a beautiful morning soaking up the local flavor and admiring all of the beautiful crafts and foods.

After that, we used our new found Jo'burg navigational skills (much improved since yesterday, I should add) to spend the entirety of the afternoon at the Johannesburg Apartheid Museum. 

The Apartheid Museum is an internationally known museum that traces the history of the Apartheid from hundreds of years ago to today.  What an incredible few hours we had there!  Upon entering the museum, the first thing that struck me was 7 large pillars standing over a reflection pool in the courtyard of the entrace.  Each had a different word on it - democracy, equality, reconciliation, diversity, responsibility, respect, and freedom.  Each of the pillars stood for one of the fundamental values of the new South African constitution.  On a wall nearby, a quote by Nelson Mandela read: "To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in away that respects and enhances the freedom of others." What beautiful principals and words on which to found a country.  

After that, we headed into the musuem.  Our tickets had randomly assigned us as "white" or "non-white" and we had to use the corresponding entrance to begin our tour.  I was assigned non-white, so I parted from Ryan and took my separate way into the museum.  I walked through a corridor of faces of ID cards of other nonwhite South Africans - this was an interesting way to enter the museum in the mindset that color was a significant dividing factor throughout much of South Africa (and America's) history.

The museums walks its guests through the Apartheid   history starting at the beginning of Jo'burg's population boom - when gold was discovered and a wide variety of people rushed to the area to try to get in on the fortunes that awaited.  From there, it goes on to describe the emergence of slavery, the beginnings of the Apartheid movement as a political strategy, and the various leaders who emerged on both sides of the struggle for equality.  It was an incredibly well done museum - absolutely packed with information and so, so many things to think about.  I'll try to list a few of my key insights and thoughts while I went through - there was just so much there!

• Slavery in SA:  I've always found it absolutely absurd that people would believe that they had the right to enslave a fellow human being, but while watching a movie near the beginning of the museum, it struck me as especially odd that this would have happened right here in Africa - African people enslaved by African settlers, to work the land that was already theirs, for the profit of someone else.  What a bizarre injustice that European settlers would arrive in this land and feel that they had the right to capture and enslave the native people who lived here.  Absurd!  Disturbing!  This is obviously not a new revelation, but being here in Africa and thinking about it, it struck me anew as completely outrageous.  How has slavery been such a significant apart of world history?!  I'll be learning more about SA's history of slavery at the Slave Lodge museum next week, so more pondering on that to come I'm sure...
• The transition from segregation to apartheid:  I didn't realize that SA started with a policy of segregation - as more people of all races moved into the cities, leaders tried to develop a way to "deal with" the diversity present in the cities.  What started with segregation, including burning areas where people had chosen to live in diversity, took a significant turn towards apartheid when the white leaders in power didn't feel that segregation was firm enough to keep people of different colors separate from one another.
• Nelson Mandela:  Wow!  Such an incredible leader and an incredible man!!!  What an experience to be able to learn about this amazing man just months after he passed on.  We got to visit a special temporary exhibit on Mandela, describing his role as a character, comrade, leader, prisoner, negotiator, statesman.  It was powerful to follow his story from the son of an African chief in rural SA to his leadership of this incredible country.  It is also amazing to consider the ways in which he was able to take the lead in this divided, grief stricken country, and turn it into a place where everyone can thrive!  At the end of the exhibit were many favorite Mandela quotes (I love quotes!).  Here are some of mine:
• "There are few misfortunes in the world that you cannot turn into a personal triumph if you have the iron will and the necessary skill."
• "The first thing is to be honest with yourself.  You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself"
• "I will support my friend even if he has been deserted by the entire world"
• "Running through the struggle like a golden thread was the indomitable human spirit and a capacity for self-sacrifice and discipline"
• People's willingness to give their lives for the cause:  As with many revolutions and struggles for justice, the sheer number of people who suffered and died for this cause was staggering.  In one room, 130 nooses hung from the ceiling, each representing a different political leader who had hung for their involvement in the anti-Apartheid movement.  From there, we walked into an area with replications of solitary confinement cells - tiny, windowless spaces where political prisoners could be held any where from 60 - 540 days (without trial!) for their supposed involvement.  This was so, so sobering...
• The turbulence of the later years of Apartheid:  We learned today that more people died in final four years of Apartheid than the previous 42 years in which Apartheid existed.  As different groups vied for power and stakes during political negotiations of the time, crazy violence and unrest ensued.  During one part of the museum, we walked through a hallway with images and artifacts from political leaders trying to sort things out.  Through windows in the hallways, we could observe video footage of what was happening in the world outside - riots, violence, weaponry trainings, etc.  It was powerful.  I guess it just goes to show that even when so much progress has been made, there can still be  long way to go.
• The power of youth!: In the anti-apartheid struggle, the young people of SA played a huge part.  Tomorrow celebrates the anniversary of the youth uprisings in Soweto, a township near Jo'burg, where young people rose up against the injustice they faced.  We watched video footage of young people throughout the 1970's and 1980's that showed their impact on the movement.  Without becoming violent, they became "ungovernable" - thus destroying the power that the corrupt political leaders held.  It was powerful to see how even when the 'big guns" were in prison, the young could act and create change that created a turning point in the movement.
• The unfortunate commonalities of oppression:  I've had the amazing experience to get to visit many monuments to overcoming injustice around the world.  During my time in the museum, I was reminded of other halls I've walked through in other museums around the world that celebrated the victories of other groups in the face of awful oppression.  From the DC Holocaust museum to the Rwandan Genocide museum in Kigali, it is disheartening to realize the many ways that people all over the world have done horrific things to one another.  As I walked past pictures of unnamed people knowingly participating in a world that did such awful thing I just kept thinking - how could you?  How can so many take part in such devastating acts against fellow human beings?  It's saddening to realize the things that we are all capable of, and a good reminder to always be fighting and living in a way that creates justice and empowers everyone to live the life that they deserve.

After lingering in the museum until they closed the doors, we enjoyed a dinner and great debrief conversation at a restaurant near our B&B.  As we were getting close to finishing our supper, we noticed the nearby grocery store was closing its doors.  Having my heart set on a Magnum bar to finish off my night, I ran next door while Ryan paid the bill.  Have no fear - we will soon be finishing this extraordinary day with two fresh Magnum bars! :-)  It's the little things, right?

Tomorrow we will get to visit Soweto, the sight of the youth uprising in 1976, as well as tour the sights of Johannesburg.  We've been in the country only 24 hours, but have already learned and seen so much!

Until tomorrow.....thanks for reading!

~emily~

PS - one more quote to leave you with from today:

"Good moral character is not something that we can achieve on our own.  We need a culture that supports the conditions under which self love and friendship flourish." ~Aristotle